Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a differential device which is suitable for a vehicle such as, for example, an automobile.
Description of the Related Art
In, for example, Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 2001-121980, there is disclosed a conventional differential device, particularly a differential device including a differential case (input member) serving as a carrier plate that supports a shaft for supporting a planetary gear, wherein a shaft for supporting a differential gear and the shaft for supporting a planetary gear are arranged at the same position in a peripheral direction of the differential case, the shaft for supporting a differential gear being supported on the differential case and supporting a pinion (differential gear) of a differential mechanism.
Meanwhile, in a differential device including a pinion (that is, differential gear) and a pair of side gears (that is, output gears) each meshing with the pinion, it is conceivable that a diameter of each side gear is made sufficiently larger than a diameter of the pinion so that the number of teeth of the side gear can be made sufficiently larger than the number of teeth of the pinion, and thereby the differential device is thinned in an axial direction of the side gears.
In this case, when arrangement configuration of the shafts as described above, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 2001-12198, is applied as it is to the thinned differential device, in a thinned differential case, load is easily concentrated on a portion where the shaft for supporting a differential gear and the shaft for supporting a planetary gear are overlapped with each other in the peripheral direction of the differential case, and therefore there is a possibility that durability of the differential case will be deteriorated.